Wind Energy

Wind energy Enercon lays cornerstone for tower factory in France

By the end of June, Enercon celebrated the cornerstone laying ceremony marking the start of construction for its first precast concrete tower production facility in Longueil-Sainte-Marie, France. Managing Director, Hans-Dieter Kettwig officiated the ceremony near Compiègne together with Senator and Mayor of Compiègne, Philippe Marini, the Mayor of Longueil-Sainte-Marie, Stanislas Barthelemy, Enercon customers and staff. The plant is scheduled to be completed by summer 2012 when serial production of the precast concrete towers will be launched.

Spread out over an area of 15,000 m², Enercon’s first production site in France is designed to process up to 40,000 m³ of concrete annually. With this new factory, Enercon will soon be creating up to 90 jobs for the community of Longueil-Sainte-Marie – a number which could increase with a developing market. The new production complex in Oise (French Département in the region of Picardy) is not only a first for Enercon but also the very first production site of a wind turbines manufacturer in France.

Enercon’s new wind power plant shows that France and wind energy are no longer a contradiction, said Enercon Managing Director, Hans-Dieter Kettwig in his speech. Although a systematic breakaway from nuclear power as in Germany is not expected to happen in the near future, ever more French citizens are looking at other alternatives. The events in Germany could be a trigger for a change in wind in France.

With more than 1500 MW of installed wind farm capacity, France is Enercon’s third largest market worldwide. Enercon’s share of the French wind turbines market is currently around 25 percent. Since the end of 2004, the Aurich based firm has already set up 20 service stations throughout the nation and is hoping that the upward trend will continue.

www.enercon.de/